by Katie Dowe
“What?”
“You're pregnant!”
“How did you—“ Robyn shook her head. “Yes I am, and Timothy doesn't know yet. I only just confirmed this afternoon and I'm waiting until tonight to tell him, so please don't say anything to him.”
“Of course not.” Hillary looked stunned. “I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. Even when we were at the dinner table, he couldn't take his eyes off you.”
“I love him too, so much so that it frightens me,” she said with a breathless laugh. “I'm wondering if it's a sin to be so happy.”
“I'm sure it's not,” Hillary said slowly. “I really love Malik and he loves me. We have this beautiful family and he's a great provider, I'm learning to really accept what I have and stop wanting more.”
“That’s a good place to start.” Robyn reached forward and clasped her hands. “We have to remember to be grateful.”
***
“Okay love, we've been walking for ten minutes now and as much as I love the park at this time of the night and the heady scent of flowers blooming, I think it's time we get back. It looks like it's going to rain any minute now.” He had her fingers twined between his and they were making their way to one of the slides, the very one where he'd proposed to her only a few weeks ago. She thought it would be appropriate to share the exciting news there where he'd expressed the wish to take their own children to the park someday.
She slowed to a stop and forced him to do so as well. “It’s so nice and peaceful out here don’t you think?”
“Now it is.” His dark blue eyes scanned the area. It was almost nine p.m. on a Friday and the place was basically deserted. He looked down at her and his expression softened.“Ready to go?”
“Not just yet,” she insisted. “Remember when we came to the park with Madison and Holly?”
“Vaguely,” he teased. “Why?”
“Remember what you said?”
“I said a lot of things. What specifically did I say?”
“You talked about wanting to bring our own kids here someday.”
“I remember it was a proposal of sorts.”
“It was, but I am talking about the taking our kids part of it.”
He frowned as he stared down at her. “What’s going on, love?”
She took one of his hands and placed it against her flat stomach and kept it there. “I wanted to make sure before I told you.”
“Make sure of what?” he asked her hoarsely, his body rigid.
“Make sure that the nausea in the mornings and tiredness wasn't just because of my hectic schedule and the fact that I usually don't have time to eat properly. I wanted to do the tests and make sure that it wasn't a figment of my imagination or the hope I fostered inside me the first time you made love to me. I wanted to make sure that it was real and not something I conjured up.” Her dark brown eyes were bright with tears as she stared up at him. “I wanted to make sure that I was carrying your seed inside me and that seed is growing inside me as I speak.”
“Trust you to be a doctor about this.” His voice was strained. “You're pregnant with my child?” His voice was thick and she could feel the joy seeping from his body.
A tear slipped down one cheek and he lifted his free hand to capture it, his fingers trembling. “I hope you don’t mind,” she whispered.
“Mind?” He closed his eyes at that, opening them again as he tilted her chin up. “Mind?” he repeated huskily. “How far?”
“I would say a month.”
***
“I'd hoped but I wanted to give you time and not overwhelm you.” He removed his hand from her stomach and used both of them to frame her exquisite face. “You're carrying my child?” His voice was thick, his eyes darkened at the incredible poignancy of the moment. “I never thought it possible to love you more than I already did. I thought that what I felt for you was at the extreme, it was at the pinnacle and couldn't reach any further but I was so wrong!” The shudders could not stop! He pulled her into his arms and his lips took hers in a soft gentle kiss, a brush of his mouth on hers, a mingling of his breath with hers, the movement potent, stirring something deep inside both of them. He didn't deepen the kiss and continued to brush his lips against hers slowly, feeling the fire build up inside him, the tremors in his fingers as he held her face between his hands.
But she opened her mouth beneath his, her tongue reaching out to touch his lips, seeking to reach into his mouth, to deepen the kiss, but he couldn't allow her to do that, at least not where they were right now. What she'd just told him combined with the feel of her mouth on his was proving to be too much. If he dared to open his mouth and give in to the emotions clawing through his body, he feared he wouldn't be able to control himself and he was too far away from home to indulge. He broke the kiss and took a step back, his chest heaving as he stared down at her. “No.” With a shaky laugh he backed further away as she approached him. “I'm in fear of losing control right now so it’s best you give me a little distance. Let me walk this off for a couple of minutes. Please!”
***
Without waiting for her response he turned and hurried away, leaving her standing there, her fingers on her lips. She took a deep breath to steady herself. They were explosive together and it was something that she could never get used to. One touch from him or even a look and it would send her into flames, incinerating everything inside her and turning it to liquid. She waited a few minutes before she went to find him. He was approaching her. He stopped when he saw her coming and waited until she reached him. “I realized that I left you in doubt as to where I stand as far as the pregnancy is concerned,” his tone was teasing but his face was intense.
“You kind of did,” she said with a smile.
“I'm afraid you're going to have to be the one to put your foot down where he or she is concerned.”
“Why is that?”
“You've seen evidences of the way I tend to spoil children with regards to Madison and Holly. They have this annoying tendency to be able to wrap me around their little pinkies and I cannot seem to say no to them.”
“I noticed that,” she said with sham gravity. “What are we going to do about that?”
“It’s too late when it comes to them but I guess with ours—” He choked a little at that and he had to swallow to continue. “With our child I guess I could learn how to say no every now and then, but I'm going to need your help.”
“Parenting is a team effort so of course I'll do my part. But when I'm with those girls and when I'm around children, I tend to want to do everything to please them so I'm guessing that we're definitely in trouble.”
He pulled her into his arms and wrapped them around her tightly. “I guess we'll have to try and learn to do it together.”
“I think that’s best,” she whispered.
He held her away from him and looked down at her, his eyes dark. “I am over the moon over the turn of events, in case you're wondering.”
“I was wondering a little,” she told him with a tremulous smile.
“God! How I love you!” he whispered raggedly and picking her up in his arms he carried her back to the car.
Chapter 15
The party was kept outdoors around the pear shaped pool that had been cleaned for the summer. It was the first Saturday in June and the weather was particularly beautiful with a clear blue sky and hardly any clouds in sight. It was early enough for parents to bring their children along and by the early afternoon the place was crawling with people, partaking of the food that the caterers had set out on the various tables near the pool. Timothy kept Robyn firmly at his side, his fingers joined with hers as they made the rounds among the people there. Almost everyone had turned out, not only because of the McLaughlins but also because of the petite, beautiful doctor who'd captured their hearts and was now a part of their community. The fact that she was engaged to the most influential man in town was an added bonus. They were the center of attention: Robyn petite and look
ing young in an off-the-shoulder floral dress and sandals with her hair loose around her face and Timothy, towering over her, an indulgent expression on his handsome face, wearing cargo shorts and t-shirt, looking very different from the man they'd been accustomed to seeing before.
Both he and Robyn still had their regular run in the morning even though he'd asked her if it was okay now that she was pregnant. Ever since that night a week ago when she'd told him that she was pregnant with his child it was as if there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. Robyn felt the warmth of his love every second of the day and had the privilege of being loved without condition. She never had to ask him if he loved her, he showed her in every way that he did.
“Tired?” he asked her softly as he watched her stifling a yawn.
“I'm able to go for hours during the day without taking a break but ever since I became pregnant I find myself wanting to sleep at odd hours,” she admitted ruefully.
“Want us to slip away?”
“We can’t.” She shook her head. “Your brother and Hillary would never forgive us and I see Madison and Holly heading this way.”
He turned her to face him, tilting her chin up to study her face. “You could go inside and take a brief nap, darling. I don’t want to insist but I'm going to have to if I see you wilting.”
She put her hands on his chest. “I love how masterful you are when it comes to me,” she murmured. “I'll be fine. I promise that if I get too tired I will disappear.”
He nodded and turned just as his nieces came running over. “Uncle Timothy, can we get more hotdogs?” Madison asked.
“How many have you had so far?”
“Just two.” Her blue eyes, so much like his, looked at him pleadingly. “Could we have just one more and a soda?”
“No soda but yes to the hotdog.” He looked at Holly. “How about you, pumpkin?”
“I want a corndog.”
“At your service.” He looked at Robyn.
“I'll go and join Hillary and the other women. Go on, I’ll be fine.”
He hesitated briefly and then with a nod he took each girl's hand in his and walked off. Robyn watched them for a moment and then made her way over to where Hillary was, stopping along the way to greet people who were regulars at the medical facility. She'd never been one for making friends, especially after what Brianna had done to her, but she was finding that these people who'd opened their hearts to her were warm and giving and absolutely genuine. She'd always hated small towns because of the lack of privacy but she was beginning to love Fallen Oaks for that very reason. They looked out for one another, and that was saying something.
“How are you enjoying the party so far?” Hillary asked as soon as she came forward. The woman looked happier these days and had started to show just slightly. Malik looked more relaxed as well, as if everything had been resolved between him and his wife.
“It’s great, even though I'm afraid I'm feeling a little tired and Timothy is threatening to make me leave and get some rest,” she said with a laugh.
“That man is very protective of you,” Clara said, shaking her head as she glanced over to where Timothy was standing with his nieces and his brother as well as several other people.
“He is.” Robyn looked over at him and he lifted his head as if he knew she was seeking him out. Their eyes met and held. Even from across the yard, she could feel the pull of his love and couldn't stop the shiver from racing up her spine. She'd left her home and everything that she thought mattered to her and had found something much more, something so endearingly sweet that she woke up each morning wondering if she was dreaming.
“Your wedding is four weeks away. How is it going?” Another woman asked her. Robyn turned to Betty, a pleasant white-haired woman whom she'd treated for a mild case of arthritis a few weeks ago.
“Everything is going according to plan. The wedding planner has everything under control, all I'm required to do is choose a wedding dress and I haven't had the time to do that yet,” Robyn said with a laugh. “If I don’t watch out I'll probably be going to my own wedding wearing my lab coat and sneakers.”
“And we wouldn't want that,” Hillary said with a laugh. “I'll help you to choose.”
***
Timothy kept an eye on his nieces as they raced from the table with the food towards the edge of the pool. The other men who'd been standing with him and his brother had drifted away, leaving them by themselves. “If anyone told me that I would live to see this day, I would have told them they were mistaken,” Malik murmured as he too watched his daughters.
“What day?” Timothy’s eyes drifted over to where the woman he loved was laughing at something one of the women said. She had a full laugh that lit up her beautiful face and had you joining her. She was light and goodness and he could never get over the fact that she was his and that she would soon be his wife and several months later, the mother of his child. He found himself lying awake long after she'd gone to sleep and wondering if it was real.
“My brother in love.”
Timothy looked at his brother and smiled at that. “I wonder if you can call it love when it feels like paradise and heaven all rolled into one.”
Malik stared at him for a moment as if shocked.
Timothy returned the look and shoving his hands into his pockets he rocked back on his heels and gave a derisive smile. “She's my life. Without her everything is empty and I would never want to go on. I adore her Malik, it's not just love but with every fiber of my being I'm into her.” He shook his head and he looked over to where she was standing. “And the funny thing is, I'm not afraid to let her and everyone else know it. I don’t care that I wear my heart on my sleeve because I want the world to know that I'm hers now and forever.”
“I can see that,” Malik said slowly.
Timothy inclined his head. “I know you're my brother and as such I should ask you to be my best man but I promised Liam that he would be. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I'm satisfied with being an usher,” Malik assured him softly, clasping him on the shoulder, his eyes solemn. “She's one heck of a woman, brother, and I'm very happy for you.”
***
He massaged her feet as soon as they undressed and got into bed. They'd left his brother’s place at nine and only because he'd insisted. Even though she'd been sitting down during the couple of hours before they left he'd seen that she was tired and almost asleep by the time they left. She hadn't wanted to offend anyone by leaving too soon. Timothy had no problems where that was concerned because his first thought was for her.
“I cannot believe how tired I am!” she murmured as she wriggled her toes in his hands.
“And to think that I had to drag you out of there,” he said drily. They'd travelled to his apartment for a change and he was planning to make sure she sleeps in tomorrow.
“I was having fun,” she told him teasingly. “I always thought that small towns were for people who retired. I used to think that there was nothing to do and nowhere to go.”
“But now you know better?” He massaged her insteps slowly in rhythmic motions.
“Hmm,” she said dreamily, snuggling down into the pillows. “The people here are so friendly and nice and of course that museum that you took us to far surpassed my expectations. And the movie theatre has this old world charm to it that I spent the time staring at the intricate patterns on the walls instead of the movie itself.”
“Will you miss it?” he asked her casually. He'd never asked her before if she wanted to live anywhere else and even though his corporate office was at Fallen Oaks, he knew that he would pick up and go anywhere with her. He'd told his brother that it meant nothing if she wasn't with him and he'd meant it.
Her dark brown eyes met his. “Are you asking me if I want to continue living here?”
“Something like that.”
“What would you say if I told you no?”
He shrugged. “I would then ask you where you would like to live.”
<
br /> She stared at him. “You would give up your home for me?”
“I would give up my life for you.”
“Timothy—”
“I thought you knew that.” He put her feet on the bed and hopped off to go and put his robe on. “I need a drink.”
***
Her eyes followed him out of the room and she knew that he'd gone into the living room. He did that when he wanted to process what he was feeling and usually she let him but this time she decided not to.
He was seated on one of the sofas with a drink in his hands. He looked up as she came into the room. “I was coming right back.”
“I know.” Instead of sitting next to him she sank down onto the soft carpet at his feet, her legs folded Indian style. She took the drink out of his hands and leaning forward, placing it on the table next to the sofa. “I find myself wondering if I truly deserve someone like you. I justify it by saying that I was hurt tremendously before so of course it's only fitting that I have someone like you in my life. Someone who loves me the way you do, someone who takes care of me and puts my needs before his own but I still wonder. I still find myself waking up at night and wondering if I really deserve you. I would go anywhere you go Timothy. It doesn't matter where I live as long as I'm living with you. Do I make myself clear?”
“As crystal,” he said hoarsely, his hands reaching out to cup her cheeks. “It’s overwhelming what I really feel for you and sometimes I wonder if it's too much for you. Certainly I think it's too much for me at times. Will you tell me when it gets to be too much for you?”
“It will never be too much for me,” she told him softly, her hands clasping his strong wrists. “I love you Timothy.”
“I adore you!” he whispered.
***
The church glistened with the newness of being freshly renovated. The white pillars gleamed in the bright sunlight of the Saturday afternoon in July. The gardens had been freshly landscaped and the dazzling array of flowers were a perfect backdrop for the ivory color of the painted walls. The wedding was at three in the afternoon and the day was perfect for it, with not a cloud in the sky. Both her parents had arrived and Timothy had taken them out for dinner at one of the trendiest restaurants in Fallen Oaks. He'd charmed both of them and had shown them how much he loved their daughter. Her mother had told her that she'd been blessed to find such a man and Robyn had agreed. She'd spent most of the night chatting with her mother and had enjoyed it immensely.